Easy Rosemary Focaccia Bread

I took this recipe out of The Easy Way to Artisan Breads and Pastries by Avner Laskin. I checked it out from the library. All the recipes are designed to be used with a stand mixer with a dough hook so you don't have to knead the bread by hand. Much easier! It turned out with awesome results! I love to make Kelly's Pesto Focaccia sandwich but sometimes buying all the ingredients gets spendy. Last week I made it with my own bread, tomatoes and pesto from my yard! It was quite rewarding.

Fresh Rosemary Focaccia Bread

1 1/4 c water
1 Tbsp dry yeast
1/4 c plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 c flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp course salt for garnish
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary for garnish


1. In the bowl of a standing mixer with dough hook attached, mix the water, yeast, 1/4 olive oil and flour at low speed for 3 minutes. With machine running, add the salt, switch to medium speed and continue to knead for 10 minutes.

2. Place dough in a floured bowl, covered with plastic to rest for one hour.

3. Transfer dough to floured surface and flatten it out with the palm of hand to remove air pockets.

4. Grease bottom of 12 x 15 or 9 x 13 pan with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Place dough in the pan and flatten it out with the palm of your hand until it fits snugly.

5. Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and course salt and let rise until tripled in size, about 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 400. Use your finger to make little indentations in the top of the dough.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is hard, shiny and deep golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and cool in wire rack.

Enjoy!
Michelle